Some of you may know, we decided to keep a few backyard chickens to go with our ever busy household of 3 kids and 2 dogs. Unlike the dogs and children, the chickens can't be kept indoors to keep them safe from predators like hawks, raccoons, and the internet so we had to do some research on different types of chicken coops.
As of now, my oldest hen is 16 weeks and the others are 12 weeks. At first, we kept them in a brooder inside the formal dining room (i.e. useless room in the house) with a light and pine shavings on the bottom that I cleaned almost daily. It got really smelly really quick and wasn't good once they got so big that they could start jumping out and run around the house. Next, we built a little space for them outdoors using plans off of the internet that we could move around the backyard. It is sturdy (as in weighing forty eight hundred pounds) and has to be moved every few days if we didn't want a dead patch of grass in the backyard. If you are new to keeping chicks, they grow very quickly so we had to look for a small coop for our backyard as a more permanent solution. We wanted something decent sized for a flock of five, but also didn't want to spend a thousand dollars on building some crazy chicken fortress that I know we would end up building if we built one ourselves from scratch. Aivituvin reached out me and we decided to try their Aivituvin-AIR45 Large Hen House with Run for 4-6 Chickens - Chicken Coop with Chicken Run (https://aivituvin.com/collections/chicken-coop/products/aivituvin-large-hen-house-with-run-air45)
This coop is a great starter coop for a small flock of backyard chickens. It was quick to assemble with easy directions and lightweight so it can be moved if you place it somewhere and decide that you want it somewhere else, which happened a few times already. It's very easy to clean all of the chicken goop that piles up as chickens do their chicken duty almost constantly. There is a tray that slides out of the bottom of the house and you can spray it clean with a hose and slide it back in. It also has removable perches that can also be sprayed clean. The top of the house is made of sturdy roofing material that opens up and has hinges that lock open to keep it from falling so you can clean the inside when needed (because remember, chickens make more than just eggs). I also love how it has 3 doors on the run and two top panels that open for easy access. It's very easy to access any spot in the coop or run.
The inside has 4 slots (two on each side with accessible roofs) for hens to lay their eggs. Right now, they use the slots to all gather together at night and sleep. I added fake grass in the slots for added comfort and easier cleaning. I have been using this coop with run for a little over 2 weeks now and the chickens seem to love it and I also love how easy it is to keep clean. I'd definitely recommend this for a starter coop for a small backyard flock.
I received the Aivituvin-AIR45 Large Hen House with Run for 4-6 Chickens - Chicken Coop with Chicken Run as a gift for an honest review of the product.
